Trump to nominate Gina Haspel to be first female CIA director

Launched following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the secret prison network was condemned by human-rights groups, which said the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation” methods violated international laws against the use of torture. One of President Barack Obama’s first official acts was to end the black site program.

In 2002, Haspel was running a black site prison in Thailand where terrorism suspect Abu Zubaydah was held following his capture in Pakistan. In Thailand, Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times, locked in a coffin, slammed against the wall along with deprived of sleep, according to a landmark congressional report on the CIA’s torture program.

This particular was only after Zubaydah was tortured for months in which CIA agents realized they were mistaken: He was not, in fact, a leader of al-Qaeda. Zubaydah is usually currently being held at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

via 2003 to 2005, Haspel was chief of staff to the CIA director of clandestine operations, Jose Rodriguez. In his 2013 memoir, “Hard Measures,” Rodriguez described how Haspel directed agents to use an industrial strength shredder in 2005 to destroy videotapes of CIA interrogations conducted at black sites.

In February 2017, Trump named Haspel to be the CIA’s deputy director, prompting Democratic senators to write a letter protesting her appointment. The public design of the letter via Wyden along with Sen. Martin Heinrich of brand-new Mexico said only in which Haspel’s “background makes her unsuitable for the position.” Their reasons for saying This particular were detailed in a separate, classified letter in which has not been made public.

On Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., signaled in which she might be open to supporting Haspel’s confirmation, despite her work on the black sites.

“This particular’s no secret I’ve had concerns inside past with her connection to the CIA torture program along with have spent time with her discussing This particular,” Feinstein said in a statement. “To the best of my knowledge she has been a not bad deputy director along with I look forward to the opportunity to speak with her again.”

If confirmed, Haspel said in a statement in which she looks forward to “providing President Trump the outstanding intelligence support he has grown to expect during his first year in office.”

Trump picked Haspel to move up via deputy director to CIA chief on Tuesday when he fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. inside announcement, Trump said he has picked CIA director Mike Pompeo to head the State Department.